Who We Are

Nadia Rabesahala Horning, Ph.D. is the acting director (2024-25) of RCGA, the director of the Rohatyn Global Scholars program and professor of International and Global Studies. She teaches courses that span various disciplines at Middlebury College. As a trained political scientist, she studies resource governance in Sub-Saharan Africa (The Politics of Deforestation in Africa, 2018), although she has also been investigating why some highly-skilled African professionals who trained abroad return to Africa, while others do not. From 2013 to 2019, Professor Horning directed Middlebury College’s African Studies Program and from 2016 to 2019 she was the faculty director for Middlebury’s Social Entrepreneurship Programs. She also advised UMOJA, Middlebury’s African students’ organization, for over ten years. A recipient of fellowships from the Mellon Foundation, Fulbright-Hayes, and the World Wildlife Fund, she holds a BA and MA from George Mason University (International Studies and International Transactions, respectively), and an MA and PhD from Cornell University (Comparative Politics). Educated on three continents, Professor Horning has taught at Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po Bordeaux—Les Afriques dans le Monde center) and the African Leadership University (Mauritius and Rwanda). A native of Madagascar, she is committed to training learners across geographic, cultural, disciplinary, and institutional borders. Email: nhorning@middlebury.edu

Mark Williams, Ph.D. is the director of the RCGA and the Russell J. Leng ’60 Professor of International Politics and Economics at Middlebury College (on leave 2024-25), where he teaches courses in Great Power relations, international relations, international drug trafficking, Latin American politics, and US-Latin American relations. A past President of the New England Council on Latin American Studies, he has served as the Antonio Madero Visiting Associate Professor for the Study of Mexican and Latin American Politics in the Department of Government at Harvard, chair of the Fulbright Committee’s Faculty Peer Review Panel for the Western Hemisphere (Andean Region), a consultant for the Fonds National de la Recherche (National Research Fund) in Luxembourg, and Booz Allen Hamilton in Virginia. Professor Williams has chaired the department of Political Science, and directed the programs in Global Security Studies, International Politics and Economics, and Latin American Studies. A recipient of grants and fellowships from the Ford and Mellon foundations, his research centers on U.S.-Latin American relations, Venezuelan foreign policy, international drug trafficking, and Mexican Politics. He is the author of two books and a range of articles and book chapters published by Foreign Affairs Latinoamérica, Latin American Politics and Society, Political Science Quarterly, Studies in Comparative International Development, World Development, and the Oxford, Harvard, Lynne Rienner, and Routledge presses. Professor Williams has lived in seven states across the Midwest, Northeast, Rocky Mountains, South, Southwest, and West Coast, and is a lover of dogs and music—everything from Celtic to classical and jazz to New Age. Email: mwilliam@middlebury.ed

Amit Prakash, Ph.D. is a historian who focuses on the nexus of imperialism, anti-colonialism, and migration. His research is animated by fundamental questions about state power and identification: How do states justify the use of violence? Why and how are some people produced as insiders or outsiders of a society? These interests led him to study the policing and state control of North African colonial migrants in Paris during the period of decolonization (Empire on the Seine, OUP, 2022). He is currently researching the global influence of French counterinsurgency theory on military and police institutions. At Middlebury, Prof. Prakash teaches classes on policing, borders and identification, and anti-colonialism, and he was an Assistant Director of the First Year Seminar program from 2020 to 2022. Beyond Middlebury, he has been featured in the documentary The Price of Safety and is the cohost of the history and current events podcast No Politics at the Dinner Table. He holds a B.A. in English from Oberlin College and an M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in History from Columbia University. He has previously taught at Bryn Mawr College and Columbia University.

Charlotte Tate is the associate director of the RCGA, administering a diverse set of programs that engage students’ capacity for rigorous analysis and independent thought in a rapidly changing world. She currently serves as an Ombudsperson at Middlebury and on the College’s Community Judicial Board; and is also a member of the Town of Middlebury’s Conservation Commission. In addition, she is a tour manager for Music Contact International, accompanying US choirs and orchestras on overseas performance and cultural exchange tours. She served on the Vermont Council for World Affairs board of directors from 2001 to 2020. Prior to Middlebury College, Charlotte held positions in the nonprofit and corporate sectors with the Geonomics Institute, the College of St. Joseph, the Cannondale Bicycle Corporation, and the Sheraton Corporation. Charlotte earned a bachelor’s in economics and German from Bowdoin College, and a master’s in administration from St. Michael’s College. She and her husband operate a small hay farm; and enjoy trekking with their three dogs, bicycle touring, open-water swimming, skiing, and volunteering with local nonprofits. Email: tate@middlebury.edu

Margaret DeFoor is the operations manager for the RCGA, supporting the Center’s diverse set of activities, including our wide spectrum of lectures and conferences, the  Rohatyn Global Scholars (RGS) program and the Rohatyn Global Fellows (RGF) program. In addition to this, she also oversees the production of the New Frontiers podcast series as well as the Center’s social media and marketing. Prior to Middlebury College, Margaret owned and operated the Hyde Away Inn and Restaurant in Waitsfield, Vermont, for over 25 years, where she was known for her exceptional organizational skills, event management, catering services and community contributions. While Margaret originally hails from the state of Georgia, she and her daughter call Middlebury home, along with their cat, Daisy Jane. Margaret enjoys kayaking, long walks, and summertime at the lakes and rivers. Email: mdefoor@middlebury.edu